Salary rate for nurse with 10 years critical care experience

0 I am a nurse who has worked 7 years in LDRP and antepartum, and 3 years in the emergency department. I have alot of skills and clinical knowledge that would make me a valued staff member, yet somehow I keep getting shortchanged in the salary department. I currently only make $21.50/hr, and am struggling to make ends meet for my family.
I am applying for several different positions, and was wondering if anyone could tell me the going rate for a nurse with 10 years of experience, all critical care. I don't want to seem prideful or puffed up, but I'm also tired of being sold short.
Any help is greatly appreciated!

dang! you are getting raped.. $21/hr is more like what i see new grads make not 10 yr vets. it may be the culture of your facility. i would certainly find out what other facilities pay nurses with your time and exp. and compare. i have just over 7yrs and pull just a few cents over $30/hr. in north ms.

Thank you! I appreciate your input and your support. I am currently seeking jobs within the Hattiesburg area. If anyone knows of any positions available, I'd love to hear about them! $26-$28/hr would be a dream!!!

I was in the same position last year working at Regional West in Nebraska. I was making $22/hour after 6 years of working there. One of my friends told me about travel nursing and initially I didn't want to do it because I have a family but I agreed to talk to a recruiter anyway. You have to have at least 2 years of floor experience. I found out that travel nurses actually do make a lot more money because they are not taxed on there entire paycheck and I can still live at home and be considered a traveler. I thought this was too good to be true so I asked around and the only stipulation to receive the tax benefits was I had to work just 50 miles away from my permanent address. I was already driving 45 minutes to get to work so another 15 wouldn't kill me, so I tried it. I went from making $740 net/week to $1000 take home per week! That was 4 years ago and since then I've been "traveling" ever since. I have a multi-state license so I'm able to work in the 22 other compact states and I just recently got my California license so I can make some real money. The agency that I use has contracts in literally every state and I almost got to go to Hawaii for a 13 week assignment! Unfortunately, I didn't have the experience they were looking for! I've heard terrible stories about some travel agencies so you have to be careful to pick a nice, honest, reputable recruiter.